Kerala - the soul of South India

Once the travel bug bites you, there is no hope for you. All you want to do is pack your bags and explore a new place as soon as you get the opportunity. South India is where I started my travelling journey. When I plan a trip, I decide the destination on the basis of what I want to see at that time. I divide Indian touristy destinations in four categories:

1. Greeneries

2. Beaches

3. Mountains

4. Stones

When you talk about green, two major parts of India that come to your mind are - South India and East/North-East part of India. I have explored South India extensively. Here is a list of places I have visited and you must visit too when you plan a tour to Kerala.

1. Munnar

When your flight is hovering over Kochi, all you see is different shades of green all around you. On mountains, on the ground - everywhere you will see dense patches of trees of different shades. It's also popular as the honeymoon destination for couples, yet not too overcrowded. There is something about Munnar air that makes you fall in love with it. When you approach Munnar from Kochi airport, you will spot bright and colourful houses all around you. The best thing is that there is no township that you will spot. The houses are scattered, the place is not too populated. Munnar has a lot of tea estates. That's in fact the specialty of Kerala district. There are not many hotels too. Hotels are located on small hills. If you are there after monsoon and during winters, you will see clouds passing by. They enter your window and exit from the balcony. There is a tea making factory too in Munaar. If you are a tea lover, you must visit it. The place is full of beautiful churches and valleys.

2. Alleppey

Alleppey is popular for its backwaters experience. You hire a houseboat, sit back and enjoy the beautiful view all around you. You may hire one for a few hours or overnight. I would suggest you not to hire it overnight as it gets boring after a few hours to be in it. These houseboats are well furnished. It's almost like living in a hotel room that floats on waters. If you are a sea food lover, they will cook huge prawns for you. They are of the size of mini lobsters. No kidding. And the food is delicious.

One important tip - if you are not used to the taste of coconut oil, ask them to cook food in regular oil well in advance. Also they eat thick rice. If you are not from the southern part of India, or coastal side, you might not like the taste of the rice. You can give them these instructions before boarding the houseboat so that they get time to arrange for these things as they cook and you eat in the middle of the sea.Oh, and they have a television too in the houseboat. They usually play Malayalam movies of Mohanlal and Mammootty.

3. Thekkady

Also known as the hub of spices. There are spice plantations here. You can smell that in the air. It is a popular destination for tourists. I remember being handed over a long list of spices to be bought from there when I visited Kerala. It was a refreshing change though. For the first time I didn't have to hunt for the perfect shade of lipstick for my aunt.

4. Wayanad

Wayanad is located very closely to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu borders. The place is popular again for greenery, forests and wildlife. Oh did I mention tea estates too? And some unexplored waterfalls? Rather, small water streams so scenic and unexplored that you would not want to visit the rest of the places. But you still do with the hope to see something better. And you are not disappointed.

Suggestion: Apart from getting the popular Kerala massage done, if you are at Alleppey, you should keep a day extra and visit Vivekananda stone in Kanyakumari. It is a 3.5-4 hours drive, but a must visit place.

I have visited a lot of places in India, explored and unexplored, but I left a part of my heart in Munnar. There are many other places where other parts of my heart reside, but Munnar was my first love. As they say, it's very difficult to get over your first love. It's true in my case at least.

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comments

Good post. Kerala is soul of south India. South India is best and perfect destination to spend your holidays. Hill stations, historical places, food style of South India are very famous. Get famous South India Travel Packages for your vacation at splendourholidays.com

I thoroughly agree with you, South India appears incomplete without Kerala in it. I wonder why you haven’t shared pictures of Allepey and also the typical Malabar cuisine. I would also request you to share images of backwaters of Kerala and the typical Kerala boat race.